Julius m



(No Model.)

J. M. BRANIG.

MUSIC LEAP TURNER.

Patenjzed Pflq b. 10, 1885.

UNITED STATES Parent Price.

JULIUS ill. BRANIG, OF NEXV YORK, N.

MUSIC-LEAF TURNER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 311,950, dated February10, 1885.

Application filed December 12, 1883.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Jones M. BRANIG, of the city, "county, and State ofNew York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Music-LeafTurners; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the aecompanying drawings,and to the letters of reference marked thereon, making a part of thisspecification.

My invention relates to music-leaf turners wherein a cord is attached tothe leaf 01' leaves, and is actuated by suitable mechanism to draw theleaf over from one side to the other.

The object ofmyinventionis, mainly, to pro vide improved means foractuating the cord or cords, for supporting and guiding the same, forconnecting their ends with the leaves, and for holding the leaves firmlyupon the stand while they are being turned. It. consists in the improveddevices for accomplishing these ends, hereinafter particularlyspecified.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of myimproved music-leaf turner, shown as attached to a piano; Fig. 2,adetail in perspective and a longitudinal section of one of the clipsfor connecting the end of the cord with the leaf detached; Fig. 3, a.

view in elevation of the cylinder for operating detents, shown by dottedlines, to release successively the spools upon which the separate cords,each connected with one of the music-leaves, are wound; Fig. 4-, asection through one of the spools detached, illustrat ing its inclosedspiral spring; and Fig. 5, a detail in perspective of the slitted rodfor holding ends of the cords.

A standard, A, is secured to the music stand or instrument Bin anysuitable manner, to hold it in an upright position. The upper end of thestandard supports a box, G, within which a frame, D, provides bearingsfor shafts E F, arranged in a horizontal position one above the other.The shaft E supports a se ries of spools or bobbins, E E E", &e., thatare connected with the shaft by spiral springs c, which permit thespools to turn a limited number of revolutions upon the shaft, and whenreleased will return the spools to their normal position. The spools areeach pro vided with cords e c 0", (cc, wound thereon,

(No model.)

and whose outer ends, after being led through a supporting device, areattached in a simple manner to the upper right-hand corner of the leavesof music. The shaft F supports a drum, F, provided with pinsff &e.,arranged spirally thereon to project from its surface, and bear uponspring-actuated detents or pawls G, hinged or secured at their lowerends to the box, and adapted to bear, each at its upper end, with anelastic pressure upon the periphery of one of the spools, so as to checkthere- 1 by the action of the spiral spring, and thus prevent the recoilof the spool until the detent is pressed away from it; tatchet-tecth g,formed upon the periphery of the spools, may provide a more positivemeans for holding the spools in position. A ratchet-wheel, ll, having anumber of teeth to correspond with the number of pins f upon the drum F,is secured to the shaft F, and is revolved by an oscillating pawl, h,secured to the upper end of a vertical rock-shaft, H, which passes upthrough the standard A, (see dotted lines,) made to partially rotateback and forth by the engagement of one end of a re ciprocatingspring-actuated bar, li with an elbow on its lower end. The bar H isarranged to slide beneath the key-board of the piano, and to extendwithin reach of the knee of the performer, so that it may be readilyoperated in a simple and effective manner without the employment of thehands. Each reciprocation of the bar H serves to move the ratchet-wheelH a single interval, and thereby bring one of the pins upon the drum tobear against its dctent or pawl and press it away from engagement withits spool. When the spool is thus relieved of pressure or engagementwiththe detent, its inclosed spiral spring will exert itself and revolve thespool upon the shaft E until the. cord is wound upon it the usual orrequired number of revolutions. The pawl h is automatically withdrawnfrom the ratchet-wheel ll by means of a suitable spring. The end of theshaft F is provided with a milled head, F which affords means forsetting the machine, and also for operating the spools by hand whendesired. The cords are held in proper relation to each other and to themusic-leaves by means of a rod, I, provided with holes in its outer end,through which the cords are led. The rod admits of adjustment upon thestandard, so that its perforated end may be supported in any desiredposition to suit the size of the music-leaves and their position uponthe stand, and this adjustment is effected by passing the roddiametrically between two hemispherical segments or divisions of aspherical block, I I, which are pressed together and supported betweenspring plates or brackets I secured to the upper end of the box 0, andclamped firmly together by a set-screw, 1 so as to hold the dividedspherical block in any desired position between them. The segments fitcircular openings 1" formed in the brackets,which serve to prevent thedisplacement of the spherical block, and at the same time allowsufficient movement thereof topermitits required adj ustment. When thesegments I I are unclamped, the adjustable rod I may be freely movedlongitudinally between them, or clamped at any desired part of itslength, while the universal joint formed by thedivided spherical block II will admit of a vertical or lateral movement of the outer perforatedend of the rod, to hold it closely to or away from the face of themusic, and near the upper and lefthand corner thereof. The ends of thecords e 6*, &e., are led systematically through aslit cut longitudinallyin the end of a short bar, K, supported by a rod, K, over the right-handcorner of the leaves of the music-book to be turned, said rod K beingsecured to, and upheld by a clampJifladapted to engage the edge of thebook, or which, where loose sheets are to be turned, may be fastened tothe music-rack upon which they rest. After passing through the slitwhich confines them in such manner as that when drawn upon they willreadily slip out therefrom the free ends of the cords are secured to theclips M, (see Fig. 2,) formed of tapering sheet-metal plates, thesmaller ends of which are looped over through an opening in the wide endof the plate, and are secured to button-pads m, which are pressedagainst the wide end of the plate by the elasticity of the loop, andwill thus serve to clip or hold the leaves between the said pad andv theend of the plate withan elastic pressure. WVhen the cords are wound uponthe spools, the clips will be drawn up closely to the perforation in theend of the guidc-rod I, and will prevent their withdrawal entirelytherefrom.

The music may be supported upon a ledge or shelf, L, provided with acentral arm, L, hinged thereto, which may be held in an uprightposition, as shown in Fig. l of the drawings, or may be folded down uponthe shelf when not in use. The upper end of the arm L is notched at'l,and a cord secured to the shelf L,or to the lower end of the arm,may bedrawn up over and upon the arm, and led at its upper end through thenotch Z, and secured by means of aknot or button upon the extremity ofthe cord,serving to prevent its aocidental withdrawal from the notch.This will provide a simple means of holding the music upon the support,allowing the leaves to be freely turned, and yet admitting of the readyremoval of the music from the stand. The cord may be elastic, and itsflexibility prevents it from injuring the music, as is the case withrigid attachments.

The operation of the devices above described will be understood from thedescription given. One leaf after another may be quickly turned by thesimple reciprocation of the rod operated upon by the knee of theperformer, which releases the spool of the leaf to be turned, and thusallows the cord to be wound up automatically upon the spool far enoughto draw the leaf from the right to the left hand side of themusic-support. The tension of the spring in the spool will suffice todraw the cord out of the slit in the supporting-bar K, and to pull theleaf over. As separate cords are employed for each leaf, the springsthat actuate the spools require but limited movement.

I am aware that a single cord connected by clips with the separateleaves of music and wound upon a drum has been heretofore employed, anddo not broadly claim such device.

I claim as my invention 1. In a music-leaf turner, a series of spoolsprovided with cords which may be attached at their ends to separateleaves of music, in combination with means for mechanically turning thespools to wind the cords, and a series of detents operated successivelyto release the spools and turn the leaves, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the standard A, the horizontally-reciprocatin gbar and knee-pedal 1-1 the vertical rock-shaft H, the pawl 71, thenotched wheel II, and tripping-cylinder F, the detents G, andcord-spools EE, &c., substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In a music -leaf turner wherein a cord or cords are employed to turnthe leaves, the combination, with the cord, of alongitudinally-adjustable guide-rod, I, through the end of which thecord passes,and which is secured to the frame of the machine and heldthereon in any desired position, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

4. In a music-leafer turner wherein a cord or cords are employed to turnthe leaves, the

combination, with the cord and with an adjustable guide-rod, I, throughthe end of which the cord is led, of a stationary slitted bar, K, upheldover the upper corner of the leaf to be turned, and adapted to engageand hold the cord over the leaf, substantially in the manner and for thepurpose herein set forth.

5. Thecombination,with the frame orstandard A, of one or more spools andcords and a guide-rod arranged to hold and guide each cord and to besecured by universal joints in any desired position relatively to theframe or standard, substantially in the manner and for the purposeherein set forth.

6. The combination, with suitable mechanisni for operating a cord in an1usic-leaf turner, of the guide-rod I through the end of which the cordis led, hemispherical bearings I I, through which the rod passes, andclampingplates I 1 supporting and securing said bearings. substantiallyas and for the purpose described. 1

7. A clip, M, for securing turning-cords to terminates in a button-padto bear against said wider end, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

In testimony whereof Ihave signed my name 15 to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

J. M. BRANIG.

music-leaves, consisting of a tapering elastic Vitnesses: plate havingits narrow end looped and passed 1?. ELBERT NOSTRAND, through an openingin its wider end, and which A. B. MOORE.

